Can an ISP forbid you from sharing an internet connection?

Can an ISP forbid you from sharing an internet connection?

I'm living with a few relatives right now and we just happen to be sharing an internet connection. However, it's been down for the past three days and when we called to ask why they agreed to send someone out to take a look at the lines, but my cousin ( whose room houses the cable modem ) instructed me to remove the router I had installed to share the connection because the ISP doesn't know about it.

Asked by: Guest | Views: 214

Total answers/comments: 2

Comments display order:

Guest [Entry]

"Without even knowing anything about jurisdictional matters, or the name of your ISP, I think the following general principle should apply:

If the terms and conditions you agreed to when signing up with the ISP, said 'no sharing of internet connections' then you shouldn't do it.

And this was one of the conditions in the early days of the Internet, here where I live, but my current multi-port router was provided by my ISP, so sharing is now condoned, maybe even encouraged.

The difference might be that connections here tend to be broadband, and need only one ADSL line. I don't know about your situation."

Guest [Entry]

"Most ISPs nowadays provide wireless routers that an entire family can use.

Unless the conditions of sale clearly state otherwise (which would astound me), what you buy with the line is the bandwidth, so you're totally at liberty to use the line you rented as you see fit.

Just be careful, because some ISPs also impose a monthly quota on downloaded bytes."